Potential Instructor Information

 
 

 

From our Instructor Coordinator/Lead Course Director: Some plain talk about the road to becoming a dive instructor…..

Please understand that IF you have the “bug” to become a dive instructor it can be one of the most rewarding endeavors you’ll ever do. Think about it… your going to get paid doing something you enjoy, meet a lot of new friends and share with their discovery and excitement of diving, and this can be for a lifetime if you choose. Not bad at all.

BONUS: The “being on Guam” advantage for dive instructors is really good. Guam has just about the highest paid instructors in the entire dive industry, and the conditions to teach are great.

Experience counts. Also understand that the more experience you have and the more personal motivation you have while taking your Divemaster, AI, OWSI, or IDC programs will make you a much better instructor. Even though there are minimum requirements, there is NO substitute for diving experience. The more you have, the better instructor you’ll be.

Don’t let anyone push you or convince you to take any instructor program.Course Directors are in the business of making money and most get paid on a per student basis. The more they accept, the more money they get.

There are weak Course Directors and there are very good ones. As with diving, the more experience they've had in both diving and teaching, the better off you'll be. Look at their "numbers', how many IDC's have they taught, where they have taught, and what they include in their programs.

Read this next sentence over and over again. There is NO instructor training course that teaches you diving skills or diving theory. Your Divemaster course is supposed to do this, and you've got to have them mastered by the time you are ready to take further courses. Instructor programs teach you how to teach while evaluating your skills and knowledge and prep you for to teach dive classes.

 

How to get there….

STEP 1. As we said above you’ve got to get to the Divemaster level* in order to qualify for becoming an instructor. The next steps appear to be a little confusing so let me explain.

*Divemasters MUST have the requisite dive theory (physics, etc.) knowledge PRIOR to enrolling into the AI, OWSI or IDC program. This sounds like a simple requirement, but please remember that you will be tested on your knowledge but will NOT receive additional training in either the AI, OWSI or IDC.

You've got to know your "mental stuff" at the Divemaster level.

STEP TWO: Spend time actually assisting with classes as a Divemaster. You’ll learn a lot that you didn’t in the Divemaster course.

STEPS THREE, FOUR AND FIVE: Take the instructor courses. ‘Why did we say courses? Read on.

STEP SIX: Strongly consider the Master Scuba Diver Trainer program offered after the IE. But, we must point out that some who offer this course include specialty courses that you are automatically qualified to teach right out of the IE. This is wasted money so be careful with your choices.

 

What most don’t know about IDC’s...

Typically, an IDC (Instructor Development Course) is actually composed of two different courses, the AI (Assistant Instructor) course followed by the OWSI (Open Water Scuba Instructor) course.

In the old days of PADI the IDC was a continuous progression of training spread over 9-10 days, or a month of weekends and evenings. It included both courses and you had no options. PADI soon realized that some candidates couldn’t make either schedule for one reason or another, so they were split into two courses (AI and OWSI) that can be taken separately. Or, they can still be offered together. Benefit to you...more choices.

Both of these courses must be completed before attending the IE (Instructor Examination described below). There is NO training involved, just evaluations of what you know. It’s conducted by a PADI independent regional examiner at least twice a year on Guam.  What this all mean is that you have many different options that you can design (almost) around your schedule, except for the IE.

he AI course can be conducted by a PADI IDC Staff Instructor or a PADI Course Director, and can be done over a 4 day or an extended day period. What most people don’t realize is that after completing this course you can start teaching certain courses, which greatly helps in developing a thicker wallet again. For detailed info on the AI go here: http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/pro/ai.asp

The OWSI course is conducted only by a PADI Course Director and can be done over a 5-6 day period. Like the AI course, this is a must pass course before taking the IE. For detailed info on the OWSI go here: http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/pro/owsi.asp

The Instructor Examination: In order to be certified as a PADI instructor you will need to complete and be successful at a PADI Instructor Examination (IE). Most candidates prefer to take the IE directly following the IDC as all the information is still fresh in the memory. You may choose to complete the IE at a later date and you have 12 months from the completion of the IDC to do so. Full details of what you'll do in the IE are below.

 

Q: Which way results in better training, taking separate AI and OWSI courses, or taking the IDC straight through?

This is not the loaded question you think it is. The variables are the same ones on any other professional course. Who is teaching it, what their standards are, how comfortable you are with your diving skills, and what the schedules are.  It’s generally accepted that by taking the AI and OWSI courses separately allows you more time between the courses to either get more training, make some extra pocket money, more skill practice time, or get your finances together for the next step. Also, because the minimum is only two students for each program the schedule can be more flexible.

Since the AI course can be taught by IDC Staff Instructors or Course Director you also get exposure to different teaching methods.  The drawbacks to taking separate programs are loss of continuity between courses, retention of information, possible personal motivation, and other outside factors.

Taking both courses end to end (IDC) offers a more uniform structured program at a set schedule. These are usually followed by the IE.

 

Q: What can I do in order to be prepared for the IDC?
It might surprise you to learn that the greatest number of candidate failures in the IDC and IE occur in the dive theory sections. What you need to do is open up your Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving and Diving Knowledge Workbook and retake all your Divemaster exams. This will give you a very clear indication of your current theory knowledge.

Q: Is there an advantage to taking an IE prep. Very much so. Some call it an IDC prep but this program is designed to help candidates who feel they need to refresh their diving skills and dive theory prior to the IDC.

The Prep course, done before the AI course, consists of both Confined Water and classroom sessions during which we will review the 20 skills of the PADI skill circuit, focusing on your demonstration abilities. We will also run a Rescue Workshop where we can make sure you are familiar and comfortable with the PADI Rescue Diver Course Exercise #7: Unconscious Diver at the Surface.

We will review in detail the 5 topics that make up the dive theory Exams: Physics, Physiology, The Recreational Dive Planner, Equipment and General Skills & Environment.

Q: Exactly what goes on in an IE? In order to be certified as a PADI instructor you will need to successfully complete a PADI Instructor Examination (IE). Most candidates prefer to take the IE directly following the IDC as all the information is still fresh in the memory. You may choose to complete the IE at a later date and you have 12months from the completion of the IDC to do so.


Areas of evaluation at the IE include;

--Five dive theory and a General Standards and Procedures exam. You will be tested on Physics, Physiology, the Recreational Dive Planner (Wheel, Table, and eRDP versions), Equipment and General Skills and Environment.

-A Knowledge development presentation

--A Confined water presentation

--An Open water presentation.

-Demonstrate exercise seven from the PADI Rescue diver course

--A skill circuit consisting of five skills from the Divemaster skill circuit.

Q: IDC course content is very similar. Why not take the lowest price IDC? Way up at the top of the pagewe told you about some of the pitfalls if you select the wrong program. YOU benefit directly from the overall experience of the Course Director, where they have taught, the number of training programs they have conducted, and their staff. When we say experience counts we really mean it.

Some facilities will charge a higher price as almost all of the money goes directly to a part time Course Director and the price has little to do with quality of teaching. The facility takes their "cut" but has almost no input on the quality of the course. Take a look at what's actually included in their programs. Don't forget that there are numerous applications that you have to pay additional funds to PADI for, and quite a bit of training materials that you'll have to get.

 

What are the costs of our programs, and how do they compare with others elsewhere?

Click here to get all of the details of our exclusive CDC Platinum Pro Instructor Programs.